1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to humanized, chimeric and human anti-CD74 antibodies or fragments thereof or antibody fusion proteins comprising at least one anti-CD74 antibody, particularly monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), therapeutic and diagnostic conjugates of humanized, chimeric and human anti-CD74 mAbs or fragments thereof, and methods of treating and diagnosing B cell lymphomas and leukemias, malignancies other than lymphomas and leukemias in which the cells are positive for the CD74 antigen and various autoimmune and immune dysregulation diseases using these humanized, chimeric and human anti-CD74 mAbs or fragments thereof. The present invention relates to multivalent and/or multispecific anti-CD74 mAbs or fragments thereof comprising at least one arm of an anti-CD74 mAb or fragment thereof and at least one arm of the multispecific mAb to a noxious substance, such as a pathogenic organism, such as a cancer cell, a parasite or an infectious agent. The present invention further relates to an anti-CD74 mAb or fragment thereof conjugated to an antigenic peptide. The humanized, chimeric and human anti-CD74 mAbs, fragments thereof, and conjugates thereof may be administered alone or as part of a multimodal therapeutic regimen. The present invention relates to DNA sequences encoding humanized, chimeric and human anti-CD74 antibodies, and multivalent and/or multispecific anti-CD74 mAbs and fragments thereof, and therapeutic, diagnostic and antigenic conjugates thereof, vectors and host cells containing the DNA sequences, and methods of making the humanized, chimeric and human anti-CD74 antibodies.
2. Background
One of the major goals of immunotherapy is to harness a patient's immune system against tumor cells or infectious organisms. With regard to cancer therapy, the object is to direct the patient's immune system against tumor cells. Non-Hodgkins lymphoma (NHL), multiple myeloma, and chronic and acute lymphocytic leukemia are B-cell malignancies that remain important contributors to cancer mortality. The response of these malignancies to various forms of treatment is mixed.
Induction of a T-Iymphocyte response is a critical initial step in a host's immune response. Activation of T cells results in T cell proliferation, cytokine production by T cells and generation of T cell-mediated effector functions. T-cell activation requires an antigen-specific signal, often called a primary activation signal, which results from stimulation of a clonally-distributed T cell receptor (TcR) present on the surface of the T cell. This antigen-specific signal is usually in the form of an antigenic peptide bound either to a major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I protein or an MHC class II protein present on the surface of an antigen-presenting cell (APC). The MHC molecules in humans are designated as HLA (human leukocyte antigen) molecules.
Class-II molecules are found on a limited number of cell types, primarily B cells, monocytes/macrophages and dendritic cells, and, in most cases, present peptides derived from proteins taken up from the extracellular environment. MHC class-II are charged in cellular compartments which communicate with the extracellular environment. In humans the MHC-II molecules comprise the HLA-DR, HLA-DQ and HLA-DP molecules, which occur in various genetically coded alleles. Thus, e.g., bacterial antigens from the extracellular environment can be taken up and be presented after intracellular processing in the antigen-presenting cells on their cell surface. CD4+ T cells recognize peptides associated with class-II molecules.
The use of targeting monoclonal antibodies conjugated to radionuclides or other cytotoxic agents offers the possibility of delivering such agents directly to the tumor site, thereby limiting the exposure of normal tissues to toxic agents (Goldenberg, Semin. Nucl. Med., 19: 332 (1989)). In recent years, the potential of antibody-based therapy and its accuracy in the localization of tumor-associated antigens have been demonstrated both in the laboratory and clinical studies (see, e.g., Thorpe, TIBTECH, 11: 42 (1993); Goldenberg, Scientific American, Science & Medicine, 1: 64 (1994); Baldwin et al., U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,925,922 and 4,916,213; Young, U.S. Pat. No. 4,918,163; U.S. Pat. No. 5,204,095; Irie et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,196,337; Hellstrom et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,134,075 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,171,665). In general, the use of radio-labeled antibodies or antibody fragments against tumor-associated markers for localization of tumors has been more successful than for therapy, in part because antibody uptake by the tumor is generally low, ranging from only 0.01% to 0.001% of the total dose injected (Vaughan et al., Brit. J. Radiol., 60: 567 (1987)). Increasing the concentration of the radiolabel to increase the dosage to the tumor is counterproductive, generally, as this also increases exposure of healthy tissue to radioactivity.
Murine LL1 (mLL1 or murine anti-CD74 antibody) is a specific monoclonal antibody (mAb) reactive with CD74, the HLA Class-II-like antigen, i.e., the invariant chain (Ii determinant) on the surface of B-lymphocytes, monocytes and histiocytes, human B-lymphoma cell lines, melanomas, T-cell lymphomas and a variety of other tumor cell types (Hansen et al., Biochem. J. 320:293 (1996)). Cell surface-bound LL1 is rapidly internalized to the lysosomal compartment and quickly catabolized, much faster than other mAbs, such as anti-CD19 and anti-CD22. Id. This inherent property of LL1 overcomes some of the aforementioned difficulties with immunotherapy.
Murine LL1 was developed by fusion of mouse myeloma cells with splenocytes from BALB/c mice immunized with preparations from the Raji B-lymphoma cell line (called EPB-1 in Pawlak-Byczkowska et al., Can. Res., 49: 4568 (1989)). The clinical use of mLL1, just as with most other promising murine antibodies, has been limited by the development in humans of a human anti-mouse antibody (HAMA) response. A HAMA response is generally not observed following injection of mLL1 Fab′, as evidenced in a bone marrow imaging study using a mLL1 Fab′ labeled with 99mTc. Juweid et. al., Nuc. Med. Camm. 18: 142-148 (1997). However, in some therapeutic and diagnostic uses, a full-length anti-CD74 mAb may be preferred. This use of the full-length anti-CD74 mAb can limit the diagnostic and therapeutic usefulness of such antibodies and antibody conjugates, not only because of the potential anaphylactic problem, but also as a major portion of the circulating conjugate may be complexed to and sequestered by the circulating anti-mouse antibodies. Although the use of antibody fragments of mLL1 may circumvent the problems of immunogenicity, there are circumstances in which whole IgG is more desirable and the induction of cellular immunity is intended for therapy or enhanced antibody survival time. In general, HAMA responses pose a potential obstacle to realizing the full diagnostic and therapeutic potential of murine anti-CD74 mAbs. Therefore, the development of chimeric, humanized and human anti-CD74 mAbs and fragments thereof, antibody fusion proteins thereof and fragments thereof, immunoconjugates for therapy and diagnosis, multivalent and/or multispecific mAbs, and fragments thereof and vaccine conjugates thereof would be extremely useful for therapy and diagnosis, with reduced production of human anti-mouse antibodies.